Hanger



Dec. 2, 1941. A. M. HEXDALL 2 17206122492" Aaz drewMHaMaZZ m, wfifii akM1,

HANGER Filed May 12, 1941 Patented Dec. 2, 1941 UNITED res PATENT crews1 6 Claims.

The present invention pertains to a novel-form of hanger for use insupporting such sheet metal structures as ducts in a ventilating orheating system.

The general object of the. invention'is to provide a hanger of the classindicated which minimizes the installation cost of ducts and the like,affords a strong and rugged support, and has a very lowmanufacturingcost.

A more specific object is to provide such a hanger which embodies but asingle piece of metal, fashioned in a form which can be cheaply stampedout of sheet metal, and which is so shaped as to provide integral meanson it for securing the same both to a support and to a sheet metalmember which it holds in place.

Another object is to provide a hanger of the character set forth in theimmediately preceding statement of objects. which can be installed by.but one workman and with the use of but one toohnamely, a hammer.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds taken in connection with theaccompanying, drawing in which: Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of a duct installation in which a, pair of hangers embodying thepresent invention are utilized for suspending the duct.

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively side and front views of one of thehangers. included in the installation illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front view of a hanger like that of Figs. 2 and 3 but shownprior to the twisting of its intermediate portion.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View of the hanger of Fig. 4 installed tosupport a sheet. metal duct.

Fig. 6 illustrates the use of the hanger as a piercing tool forconditioning the duct for attachment of the hanger.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of hanger,embodying my invention, shown as arranged to suspend one duct fromanother.

My novel hanger has been herein disclosed (see Fig. 1) as applied to thesuspension of a sheet metal duct ID from a transversely extending beamor joist l I. This particular application has been selected since itrepresents a common use for such hangers but it will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that my hanger will find utility in many otherinstances and in the support of many other forms of sheet metal members.Accordingly, even though a particular and preferred form. of my hangerhas been disclosed and a particular application or use thereofdescribed, there is no intention to thereby lim'itthe invention to suchprecise form of the hanger or use thereof, but on the other hand, Iintend to cover all modifications and alternative uses, falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims.

In the particular installation shown in Fig. 1, the duct [0, whichmay,-for example, be part of a ventilating or heating system, issupported from the wooden joist H by a pair of hangers l2, each of whichembodies my invention. Installing such ducts has heretofore been atedious and time-consuming job. The workman, or more often two of them,have" had to hold the duct in place, mark the location points for thehanger, drill suitable holes in the duct, secure the hanger to the ductby self-tapping screws, and nail the hanger to the joist, all the whilefumbling around for the various tools, screws and nails required for thesuccessive steps indicated. .In contrast, my hanger can be readilyapplied by one man; he requires no screws, nails or other separatefasteners, everything needful being comprised in the one-piece hanger,and he needs but one tool, namely, a hammer.

I contemplate that my hangers !2 will be merchandised in the form shownin Fig. 4. As there illustrated, the hanger comprises an elongated stripor" strap; stamped from heavy gauge sheet metal, with rounded ends toeliminate sharp corners. At the lower end of the strip is an in tegralsuspensionprong l3, struck out from the body of. thev strip, and curvedlaterally away from I the strip .(see Figs. 4 and 5.for configuration ofthe prong). This prong is barbed as indicated, having an arrowheadshaped end.

In use, the barbed suspension prong i 3 is inserted into an aperture inthe sheet metal duct H] as indicated in Fig. 5. The marginal portion ofthe sheet metal duct wall at M is wedged tightly into the cleft formedbetween the prong and the body of the hanger. Such wedging, plus thebarbed end on the prong, efiectually anchors the hanger to the duct sothat the latter is firmly and securely held in place. It will beobserved that the lower body portion of the hanger abuts fiat againstthe outer face of the duct wall so that when, the marginal portion 14 iswedged into the cleft, as described, lateral movement of the hanger isprevented. The suspension prong I3 has some resiliency which furtheraids in tightly squeezing the portion of sheet strip are two furtherintegral prongs l5 and 15 for securing the hanger to the supportingmember. The securing prongs may extend from either side of the stripdesired, being shown in the present instance as projecting from the sameside as the suspension prong l3. These prongs are of pointed form sothat they can be driven into the wooden joist or other supporting memberand are bent out at substantially right angles to the body of the hangerso that the latter will, in effect, form a head for the prongs iii-l6for hammering the latter into place. Upon reference to the drawing (Fig.2) it will be observed that the outer prong I5 is somewhat shorter thanthe inner prong It. This diiference in length accommodates theutilization of the hanger as a piercing tool, as hereinafter described,and also makes it easier to secure the hanger to the joist in that it iseasier to drive a single one of the prong points a short distance intothe wood tolocate the same precisely and then drive both of the prongshome.

Fig. 5 indicates an installation in which the joist or other supportingmember I I runs parallel to the duct [0, rather than at right angles toit as in the case of the joist H in Fig. 1. In case of such a parallelrelation of the faces of the supporting and supported members, to whichthe hanger is secured, the body of the hanger is left in its initialflat configuration in applying it. The central portion of the hanger is,however, elongated so that it can be bent. twisted or otherwise deformedto accommodate the requirements of a wide variety of types ofinstallations. For example, if the supporting and supported members areangularly disposed, the central portion of the hanger strip can betwisted (by the use of pliers or a like tool) to accommodate theparticular angularity encountered on the job. The hanger [2 in Figs. 2and 3 is twisted to accommodate the right angular relation shown in Fig.1.

The pointed prongs l5, 16 may also be conveniently utilized in piercingthe duct wall for subsequent entry of the suspension prong [3. One suchuse is shown in Fig. 6. As there indicated, the longer prong l6 forms aguide for locating the shorter prong IS a predetermined distance fromthe corner of the duct l0. Upon striking a sharp blow on the hanger, atthe butt end of the prong 15, the latter pierces the duct wall andthereby neatly forms a precisely located hole I! for reception of thesuspension prong l3. The prong i5 is preferably made substantially ofthe same width as the head on the suspension prong 13 so that the holepierced will be of just the right size.

To complete the installation, the prong I5 is then withdrawn for thepierced duct, the hanger reversed, and the suspension prong I3 insertedinto the aperture ll. The workman then pulls upwardly on the hanger towedge the edge portion [4 of the sheet metal solidly into the cleftbetween the hanger body and the suspension prong. The angularity of theprong I 3 serves to cam the sheet metal edge into the cleft. Thereafterhe hammers on the outer face of the upper portion of the hanger to drivethe pointed prongs 15, I6 into the wooden beam. Due to the fact that aplurality of securing prongs are used, since they have flat opposedfaces as shown, they serve to compress the wood at H! between them (Fig.5) so that there is extreme rigidity of attachment of the hanger to thejoist. The duct is thus rigidly secured in place.

If the attachment of the hanger to the beam should appear to be insecurefor any reason, as for example because of the presence of dry rot in theportion of the beam into which the pointed prongs are driven, nails canbe used to supplement these prongs. The apertures 25 and 16* (see Figs.3 and 4) left in the body of the hanger by the striking out of theprongs l5 and I6, afford suitably located holes for the driving of largeheaded nails to accomplish the supplemental attachment of the hanger inthe more or less unusual cases where it may be required.

The hanger l2 effectually closes the hole ll in the duct when the hangeris in place. Thus, since the shank of the suspension prong I 3 isnarrower than the hole I! the latter will be covered by the body portionof the hanger strip at the :base of the prong shank. If further sealingis desired a little putty can be smeared over the base of the prong 13.

It will, from the foregoing, be seen that I have provided a hanger whichis extremely simple in form and can readily be manufactured at low costby a simple die forming operation. Moreover, the installation of thehanger is very simple since the only tool required is a hammer and itsmanipulation during installation can readily be carried out by a singleworkman, it being unnecessary for him to handle any screws, nails orseparate fasteners. Finally, the design of the hanger for utilization asboth a piercing tool and hanger further facilitates and simplifies itsuse.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a modified form of hanger 20 embodying myinvention. This hanger is especially adapted for supporting one sheetduct from another and has, accordingly, been shown as supporting a ductI!) from the duct Ill. The hanger 20 differs from the hanger [2heretofore described in that a second suspension prong 22 is substitutedfor the pair of prongs l5, [6. The prongs 2| and 22 on the hanger 20 areidentical with each other and with the suspension prong l3 of the hangerl2. The prongs 2|, 22 are, as it appears in Fig. 7, disposed to projectgenerall toward each other.

In using the hanger of Fig. '7 the ducts are pierced at suitable points,the hanger 20 engaged with the upper duct, and the lower duct hung onthe prong 2|. Each of the prongs 2|, 22 coacts with the body of thehanger to define a cleft in which the edge of the hole in the sheetmetal duct is securely lodged.

I claim as my invention:

1. A hanger of the type set forth comprising an elongated strip of metalhaving a prong struck out from one end portion thereof and extendingangularly away from the body of the strip and toward the opposite end ofthe latter to define a cleft for engaging the margin of a portion ofsheet metal to support the same, and said strip also having a secondintegral prong on said opposite end portion thereof adapted to be driveninto a supporting member. said second prong projecting substantially atright angles to the body of the strip so that the latter forms a headfor such second prong for use in hammering the latter into place.

2. A hanger of the type set forth comprising an elongated strip of metalhaving a prong struck out from one end portion thereof and extendingangularly away from the body of the strip and toward the opposite end ofthe latter to define a cleft for engaging the margin of a portion ofsheet metal to support the same, and said strip also having a secondintegral prong on said opposite end portion thereof adapted to be driveninto a supporting member, said second prong projecting substantially atright angles to the body of the strip so that the latter forms a headfor such second prong for use in hammering the latter into place, andthe portion of said strip between said pronged end portions beingelongated and deformable to accommodate various angular relations of thepronged portions thereof for corresponding location of the supportingand supported members.

3. A hanger for suspending a sheet metal member from a supportcomprising an elongated metal strip having the upper end thereof adaptedto be secured to a support, the lower end thereof having an integralprong thereon projecting laterally outward and upward for insertion intoan aperture in a sheet metal member to be supported, and said pronghaving a barbed end thereon to resist withdrawal from the supportedmember.

4. A hanger for suspending a sheet metal member from a supportcomprising an elongated metal strip having the upper end thereof adaptedto be secured to a support, the lower end thereof having an integralprong thereon projecting laterally outward and upward for insertion intoan aperture in a sheet metal member to be supported, and said prongbeing smoothly curved outwardly away from the body of the strip.

5. A hanger of the type set forth comprising an elongated strip of metalhaving a prong rigid therewith adjacent one end thereof, said prongextending outward from the body of the strip and toward the opposite endthereof to define a cleft for engaging the margin of a portion of sheetmetal to support the same, and said opposite end of said strip beingattachable to a supporting member.

6. A hanger of the type set forth comprising an elongated strip of metalhaving a prong struck out from one end portion thereof and extendingangularly away from the body of the strip and toward the opposite end ofthe latter to define a cleft for engaging the margin of a portion ofsheet metal to support the same, said strip also having a pair of prongsintegral with said opposite end portion thereof, said pair of prongsbeing spaced longitudinally of the strip and bent laterally outwardsubstantially at right angles to the strip, and said pair of prongsbeing pointed for driving the same into a supporting member andpresenting flat opposed faces of substantial lateral width forcompressing th'erebetween a portion of the member into which they aredriv- ANDREW M. HEXDALL.

